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Going to college has always involved a host of tough decisions -- whether you want to stay close to home or move away, whether you should start at a two-year college or go directly to a four-year program, whether you can afford tuition. Online education has added another decision to the list: whether you want to study on campus or via the Internet. Thinking about the comparative cost of online versus on-campus programs can help make the decision clearer.

“Online” Usually Means “For-Profit”

Terminology matters when discussing “online universities.” In the U.S., nearly all universities that operate solely online are for-profit institutions. This means that they pay a portion of their income to investors; pay far higher salaries to their executives and administrators than most public or private institutions; and spend more than their public and private counterparts on marketing and recruitment -- often about a quarter of their operating budget, according to a Frontline report by PBS.org. A rare exception is Western Governors University, a private, non-profit online university that receives state funding.

Distance-Learning Programs

Many traditional universities now offer degree programs solely online, and they charge the same tuition that they charge their on-campus students. They don’t refer to themselves as “online universities,” though, but as universities with distance-learning programs. When comparing the price tag of online universities and on-campus universities, it makes the most sense to compare purely online (and mostly for-profit) institutions to public and private campus-based institutions.

Less Expensive

Not surprisingly, some online universities are more expensive than some campus-based universities, but none of them are more expensive than private, Ivy-League schools. Tuition numbers vary depending on whether students go to school part-time or full-time, but for those attending college full-time, the most expensive private colleges charge over $40,000 for a year of undergraduate study, and the most expensive public universities charge about $15,000, according to the Department of Education’s College Affordability and Transparency Center. In comparison, the for-profit, online Kaplan University charges $10,755 and the University of Phoenix charges $9,937, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics. Western Governors University, among the least expensive online schools because it is nonprofit, charges a little less than $6,000 per year for undergraduate degree programs.

More Expensive

Similarly, some online universities are more expensive than some on-campus universities. The least expensive public universities charge about $3,000 a year in undergraduate tuition, and the least expensive private schools charge around $5,000. The National Center for Education Statistics provides a College Navigator tool that can help you compare the tuition at specific schools that interest you.

About the Author

Elissa Hansen has more than nine years of editorial experience, and she specializes in academic editing across disciplines. She teaches university English and professional writing courses, holding a Bachelor of Arts in English and a certificate in technical communication from Cal Poly, a Master of Arts in English from the University of Wyoming, and a doctorate in English from the University of Minnesota.